BLOOMINGTON, MINN – Mesaba pilots are infuriated
by the Bankruptcy Court’s decision to strip them of their legal right to strike
if Mesaba management imposes terms of pay and working conditions that would put
Mesaba employees below industry standards. The court’s decision, which is a
complete departure from well-established legal precedent, will be appealed by
the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA).

“The court’s decision today exposes just why the
United States – the home of democracy – is on the Human Rights Watch List. In no
country in the developed world have basic workers’ freedoms been so completely
undermined,” said Captain Duane E. Woerth, ALPA’s president. “The Bankruptcy
Court, with its decision, is trampling on the basic rights of workers and the
foundation upon which this nation was built. ALPA will spare no effort or
resource to reverse this decision and protect our pilots’ fundamental rights.”

“We will not stand for this injustice,” Captain
Tom Wychor, chairman of the ALPA unit at Mesaba, said. “Under the law, if your
contract gets rejected, you don’t have to perform under that contract. No
bankruptcy court has recognized any exception under the statutes until today.”

Mesaba pilots had planned to strike if management
imposed its terms, in an effort to compel management to negotiate a consensual
agreement. “We will follow the court's order today, but we will aggressively
appeal the edict,” Wychor assured.

“Mesaba pilots will not be ‘shackled to their
aircraft’ by this court decision,” Wychor said. “Management cannot force people
to work under imposed terms. Our professionals will work elsewhere, and to that
end we have scheduled a job fair. The turnover rate at Mesaba is already a
liability to Mesaba’s future success – and if they choose to impose now, it will
be the airline’s undoing.”

The Air Line Pilots Association, along with
Mesaba Labor Coalition partners, the Association of Flight Attendants – CWA and
the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, implore Mesaba management to stay
the imposition of terms and come to consensus with its unions.

“Even in the face of this appalling verdict, we
are ready and willing to continue to negotiate with Mesaba management on a deal
because that is the only way this airline will survive,” said Wychor.

Founded in 1931, ALPA celebrates its 75th
anniversary this year representing 61,000 pilots, including 850 Mesaba pilots,
at 40 airlines in the U.S. and Canada. Visit the ALPA website at
www.alpa.org for more information.